Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined on Tuesday an invitation to meet with U.S. Senate Democrats during his trip to Washington next week.
"Though I greatly appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit," Netanyahu wrote in a letter to Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein obtained by Reuters.
Durbin and Feinstein had invited Netanyahu to a closed-door meeting with Democratic senators in a letter on Monday, amid tensions over his plans to address the U.S. Congress on Iran's nuclear program.
Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein extended the invitation "to maintain Israel's dialogue with both political parties in Congress," according to a letter to the prime minister obtained by Reuters.
Feinstein previously told Haaretz that inviting Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Congress during an Israeli election period is "highly inappropriate" and that imposing new sanctions on Iran at this time is "reckless and dangerous." |